Solutions

[Legalhack]

I'm not sure if I missed your earlier point on gas...are you saying that adding or reducing a tour by 2 weeks would not significantly affect the bottom line?

If we are thinking about less fuel saving money...how about the less amount of money spent on operating everything else, like buses, trucks, paying drivers, instructors, and food expenses. I would expect a significant savings with a reduced tour vs. a longer one when all variables are considered.

...and thank you for your time as Tour Director.

-GM

Savings from a shorter tour would seem to depend, in part, on how many instructors and members were local, and the entire season's length. If the tours were shorter but the season was not, there would still be feeding, housing and paid staff expenses that are comparable to current practices unless a substantial percentage of the staff and members lived near the regional "home base."

[Tank]

Individual corps are responsible for making sure they can survive and provide an excellent experience for their members. I don't remotely see it as their job to promote expansion, unless they choose to do so for the overall health of their organization, a la BD, SCV, Colts.

I think DCI has lots of information available on starting corps...but again, I don't see it as their job to actually start them. Help them once started? Sure. The more help the better.

Okay.

So . . . DCI and its corps have no responsibility in ensuring this activity continues to grow/thrive/prosper in this way? While the number of competing corps continues to drop?

Scary.

[drumcat]

So let me toss in an idea then. More regionals. More big shows.

For Open Class, institute Regional Championships.

Essentially, place more emphasis and importance on the "regular season". Make those shows matter.

Consider doing a "head to head" show, where corps lineups are set, but corps with the lowest rank get to select who they want to go head to head against, and all judging is one or the other.

Do anything to get the predictable scores to stop being anti-climactic.

[ChicagoFan]

I personally would rather see the corps that can't get their acts together fold and let new corps that can come along and replace them than lower the level of excellence of the top corps.

The problem with this line of reasoning is that there are very few new corps coming along to take the place of those that fold.

[Blueemrld8]

So let me toss in an idea then. More regionals. More big shows.

For Open Class, institute Regional Championships.

Essentially, place more emphasis and importance on the "regular season". Make those shows matter.

Consider doing a "head to head" show, where corps lineups are set, but corps with the lowest rank get to select who they want to go head to head against, and all judging is one or the other.

Do anything to get the predictable scores to stop being anti-climactic.

Never understood why it was set up so they only mattered when it came to field line up. Does anyone know?

[DCIHasBeen]

Okay, when you can't come up with a thoughtful rhetorical argument, go for the cheap laugh at my expense instead.

You have a great future ahead of you ... That probably involves endless repetitions of the phrase, "Would you like to make that a combo?"

Edited October 18, 2007 by DCIHasBeen

[Bones758]

I expected to read this topic and view many new, creative ideas about how to do just this. I was fully prepared to be bombarded with energetic inspiration that could revolutionize the way corps in the future conduct buisness. Guess I should've known better...

Instead, for every post with an actual IDEA, there's ten talking about how much that idea stinks, and why it wouldn't work. Plus ten more personal attacks/counterattacks. In many organizations I've worked with, the first rule of "brainstorming" is that no once can dismiss or even discuss someone else's idea until after they've all been heard. Granted, this is an open forum, and I'm not trying to get anyone to hold hands and hug here...but if all you're doing is critquing the few concepts thrown out there (with legitimate concerns or not,) how are you really "helping some of these fallen corps back on the road?" You say such and such's idea won't work for the following reasons...ok, what's yours?

Much kudos to the few of you who actually have thrown your ideas in the ring!

Yea, I stopped really reading after the first two posts were about how my ideas won't work.

Peace, people. I realize we are all passionate about this, but lets realize that we are all trying to ultimately achive the same goals.

[DCIHasBeen]

I hate to be rude but I'm sorry, what you have just said here is absolutely stupid. Open Class corps breaking away from DCI would be suicide. Open Class is in the process of breaking new ground in the activity with the new plans being implimented for the new division....which ARE in fact being implemented BY DCI! Obviously DCI is trying to fix the problem or they wouldn't be wasting their time making the changes. Why don't you wait and see how the changes they are making pan out before spewing your negative garbage about DCI and the demise of DCI Open Class drum corps?

Well yes, you are rude and you are sorry. Maybe it's too much to ask, but you should really use the "big boy" voice when sitting at the grown-ups table ...

I'm spewing nothing, just stating opinions and positing about solutions as the original poster solicited. You're the won spewing the petty, vituperative comments.

Add something constructuctive or at least have the courtesy not to harass the people that are trying to ...

[Bones758]

Okay, when you can't come up with a thoughtful rhetorical argument, go for the cheap laugh instead.

You have a great future ahead of you ... That probably involves endless repetitions of the phrase, "Would you like to make that a combo?"

So...yea, that was a little out of line...seeing how this topic is about helping corps.

[Tony Flores]

So let me toss in an idea then. More regionals. More big shows.

For Open Class, institute Regional Championships.

Essentially, place more emphasis and importance on the "regular season". Make those shows matter.

Consider doing a "head to head" show, where corps lineups are set, but corps with the lowest rank get to select who they want to go head to head against, and all judging is one or the other.

Do anything to get the predictable scores to stop being anti-climactic.

I have hinted at that same idea surrounding the revival of DCE, DCM, & DCW type organizations. This may let the corps not have to travel thousands of miles just to go to shows. There is no need for west coast corps to have to travel all the way out east in june. This will also allow Open Class corps (just getting used to that ) to get more exposure than having to wait until as late as mid-july to go to a show. The way it was done before, at least in the old DCM Days is that the shows were all in close proximity, for the most part.